Get us in your inbox

Search
MoMA PS1’s Warm Up
Photograph: Courtesy MoMA PS1/Brandon PolancoMoMA PS1’s Warm Up

The best summer parties in NYC

Looking for the most killer summer parties in NYC? These open-air shindigs are made for dancing in the sunshine.

Written by
Miles Raymer
&
Time Out contributors
Advertising

The warm weather is finally here. And besides the bevy of great summer music festivals, the season also boasts alfresco summer parties that pair pretty damn nicely with some frozen cocktails. From world-class DJs playing at rooftop bars to a prohibition-era jazz soiree on an island, these are our favorite summer bashes.

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to things to do in the summer in NYC

Best summer parties in NYC

2. Tiki Disco

For ready-to-party New Yorkers, one of the season's best shindigs is Tiki Disco at The Well. If you’ve been there, you know the drill—lots of beer-swillin’ dancey-dance fun, with Eli Escobar, Lloydski and Andy Pry serving up the rhythmic-motion-inducing goodness.

Starts May 12; $10. 

Advertising
Summer Soul Scream
Photograph: Joel W. Henderson

3. Summer Soul Scream

NYC fixture Jonathan Toubin’s series takes over the rooftop of Our Wicked Lady from Memorial Day to Labor Day, with live rock & roll bands followed by a dance-party set chock-full of eccentric gems from the depths of Toubin’s crates.

May 26–Sept 1: Sun 5pm–4am; $5.

  • Things to do
  • Festivals

A chunk of Brooklyn’s top-notch outdoor artists stage a Bushwick street takeover, fully armed with food trucks, live jammin’ and Instagram-worthy graffiti to celebrate the nabe’s trendy art scene. Watch spray-can masters create new masterpieces in real time, while local hip-hop and rock-and-roll artists provide the backdrop tunes.  

Advertising
  • Music

Slap on your spats and practice the Charleston because the Jazz Age Lawn party is returning to Governor’s Island. Sip on Prohibition-era cocktails, and none of the back-alley hooch of the day. Food vendors will be on hand to keep your Lindy Hop hoppin’ during incredible daylong jazz performances. Sure to mesmerize is the ultimate 1920s ensemble band Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra, led by the party’s host, crooner-conductor Arenella. As the tunes blast, partake in dance lessons from instructors and perfect your fox-trot.

June 15. $40–$175. 

Advertising
Elrow
Photograph: Courtesy Elrow/Chris Lavado

7. Elrow

Global megaparty Elrow touches down again in NYC to give Brooklyn Mirage an extreme makeover, creating an immersive, sensory-overload rave fantasia.

July 27 at 6pm; $27–$100.

Looking for more parties?

Recommended
    You may also like
    You may also like
    Advertising